The sharp response came as Kyiv and Washington renewed efforts to find a path towards ending the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to Russian journalists in New York that he would visit Moscow “on a missile” when asked when he planned to travel to the Russian capital. The remark was made on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, after Russian state-media journalists repeatedly called out questions as Zelenskyy walked past. His response was delivered in Russian and was widely shared online. Ukraine has stepped up long-range strikes inside Russia in recent months, with attacks often targeting energy infrastructure, including oil-refining capacity. Russia has also intensified its aerial attacks on Ukraine, causing extensive damage in Kyiv and elsewhere. ‘Disastrous war’ Zelenskyy’s retort came a day after he held a face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump in New York, where efforts to end the war and a potential ceasefire on energy-related targets were discussed. The two leaders met against a backdrop of renewed US diplomatic efforts to bring Moscow and Kyiv towards an end to a war that has lasted for more than four and a half years. During his address to the 81st UN General Assembly on Monday, Trump called for an end to what he described as the “disastrous war” between Russia and Ukraine. He said he had signed a new law giving him broad tariff powers and that he would use them “if necessary” to exert economic pressure on Russia. The US president also said the Russia-Ukraine war would end “more quickly than people understand.”
